Thoughts on farming in the Gulf Islands of British Columbia and beyond

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Why you don't put all your eggs in one basket - E. coli and XL Foods

Campbell Farm abattoir - CFIA inspected

A
few days ago I went to Saturna Island to pick up one of my lambs that
was being processed at Campbell Farm's abattoir. The lamb was for a
special local food event, a Farms Dinner at Poets Cove Resort on
Pender Island, profiling many of Pender Islands' farms and food
producers. While I was there, I picked up three boxes of beef from
Campbell farm, labelled with the beef's name “Flippers”. I know
that Flippers had to just walk down the valley to be slaughtered in a
clean, calm environment. I know the CFIA inspector was on site to
supervise each step of the process; first, to ensure the animal was
healthy, second, to ensure that it was killed humanely. The
inspector would then focus on the cleanliness of the entire operation
and process, from the hide removal, to the removal of the internal
organs, the inspection of the internal organs, and a close visual
inspection of the carcass with a final wash using clean water, tested
for purity. Only then does the inspector put the government stamp on
the meat, just before it is put into the cooler. After chilling for
several days, the meat would be cut and wrapped and ready to prepare.

Jacques
Campbell and I talked about the importance of a local food system
like this one. Small scale and local, completely traceable to the
source. Each animal processed individually. An inspection system
that is looking out for the health of the public.

XL Foods Inc. plant - CFIA inspected

So
what went wrong at the XL plant, and why did it go wrong? XL Foods
Inc. is the largest Canadian owned and operated beef processor. One
would expect that such a plant, federally inspected by the Canadian
Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), shipping meat far and wide, would have
extra scrutiny upon it. Since the identification of E. coli 0157
back in the 80's, much has been learned about the organism. It is
known that many animals carry the organism. Cattle who carry the
bacteria do not show any symptoms of disease, and some animals can
shed huge amounts of the bacteria in their feces. It is known that
the organism spreads easily from animal to animal, and feedlots with
their high animal densities and high grain diets have the highest
proportion of infected animals. Even so, the rate of infection
within feedlot pens can vary widely. Infections come and go with
animals, and most infections are temporary, lasting about four weeks.
Some beef can be super-shedders, and some believe all it would take
is one or two super-shedders, some sloppy slaughtering and less than
perfect conditions for the meat to become infected in a plant such as
XL.

Econiche, vaccine developed by Brett Finlay's team at UBC

Given
these facts, a research team led by Brett Finlay, a UBC microbiologist at the Michael Smith Laboratories, developed a vaccine
to E. coli 0157:H7 for use in cattle that can significantly reduce
the amount of bacteria shed, in order to protect public health.
The vaccine “Econiche” is licensed by Bioniche Life Sciences Inc.
Rick Culbert, President of Bioniche Food Safety, describes the
vaccine as “the world's first fully licensed vaccine for use in
cattle to reduce shedding of E. coli 0157”. He said “there are a
few producers (both beef and dairy) that have faithfully been using
the vaccine. These producers do so because they believe it is the
right thing to do.” Because of the lack of symptoms in cattle, and
the lack of negative impact on productivity, the vaccine is perhaps
seen more as an added expense. “As the majority of cattlemen are
commodity oriented, with resistance to input costs, the product over
all has less than 5% market penetration.” Mr. Culbert adds that
most enquiries into the vaccine following the XL outbreak have been
by consumers and media, not by cattle producers. “I suppose that
is appropriate in that the vaccine is not for the benefit of the
cattle. It is for the benefit of the consumer – by reducing the
risk of E. coli 0157 exposure.” In Bioniche's recent annual
report, President Graham McRae said “ sales of our E. coli 0157
vaccine – Econiche – have been limited to date as there is
presently no mandatory requirement for cattlemen in Canada to
vaccinate their animals, nor do they receive any compensation or
incentive to do so.”

Some
of the cattle producers that are using the vaccine are those that
show cattle, and don't want to risk their animals contracting the
disease on the show circuit, or passing on any such bacteria to the
public at the fairs. Other users are often special label beef, that
can use the reduction or absence of the E. coli 0157 as a marketing
feature for public safety. Many producers, and especially feedlot
operators, have an interest in using the vaccine but would like to
see research trial results and work done to reduce the number of
injections from three to two. Some are looking forward to trials
that are testing probiotics that can perhaps compete with E. coli
0157.

A
recent press release by XL outlines a plan that should significantly
reduce such incidents in the future. It includes holding all
carcasses until test results are completed. That should have been
the standard in a plant as large as this all along, knowing that it
was a matter of time before the system failed. And the CFIA should
not be off the hook and pointing fingers. There is no reason why a
CFIA inspector at the plant could not have stopped the line or
ordered that procedures be changed as soon as deficiencies were
noted. Small plants, like Jacques Campbell's, are under such CFIA
scrutiny every time they slaughter. Why not the big federal plants?
Local food just looks better and better.